Tape applying apparatus



Jan, i 197@ pgscH ETAL BA8 43 TAPE APPLYING APPARATUS Filed June 1, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 wvnvrons g H.H.K N

2 ,HERM PESCH a;

A770 NEVS ms im j. 1970 H PESQH ETAL TAPE APPLYING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1, 1966 M/VENTORS H. H. KLEIN HERMAN PESCH F 4 A TTORNEVS FIG. 2

United States Patent 3,488,243 TAPE APPLYING APPARATUS Herman Pesch and Harvey H. Klein, Fulton, N.Y., as-

signors to Phillips Petroleum Company, a cor oration of Delaware Filed June 1, 1966, Ser. No. 554,583 Int. Cl. B26d /00; B6511 25/00 US. Cl. 156354 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tape applying apparatus for a container in which there is provided a means to advance the tape from a supply roll at preselected times to produce a slack between the supply roll and the work area, and a means to advance only the slack tape to the work area at times different from those in which slack is created.

Many machines have been devised for applying tape to articles and packages. The machine requires that there be a means for advancing the tape into the work area, and a means for cutting off tape, from a roll of tape, for example. When the tape to be applied is taken from a large roll, there is a problem in advancing the tape accurately since the tape advancing means must overcome the inertia of the roll. When small segments of tape are to be cut from a large roll, this problem becomes more severesince a small slippage due to tape roll inertia could create a large error in the tape to be applied.

We have now discovered that this problem of tape slippage due to the inertia of the tape roll while feeding the tape can be overcome by creating a tape slack between the feed roll and the work area and advancing the tape by taking up only the slack which has been created.

In a mechanized operation in which a plurality of containers are fed to a tape applying apparatus, occasionally due to a mechanical problem there will be no container to have tape sealed thereon. When no container is present, and the machine operates to cut a piece of tape and place the same on the container, it is possible for some of the tape slivers or the tape itself to fall into other containers. We have discovered this problem can be eliminated by providing a means for sensing the absence of a container and responsive to the sensing of the absence of a container to prevent feeding of tape to the work area and also prevent actuation of the cutting means for the tape.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a tape applying apparatus in which the means to advance the tape to the work area need not overcome the inertia of the feed roll.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tape applying apparatus in which tape is fed to a feed area and cut from a strip of tape wherein there is provided a means to sense the absence of a container and responsive thereto the feeding of the tape and cutting of the tape is prevented.

Other aspects, objects, and the several advantages of this invention are apparent to one skilled in the art from a study of this disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims.

Patented Jan. 6, 1970 According to the invention, there is provided an apparatus for feeding a roll of tape to a cutting area in which the tape is cut into a plurality of smaller pieces. The tape is advanced by first creating slack between the feed roll and the work area and then advancing the tape by taking up the slack area. When fed into the cutting area, the tape is gripped on either side, severed, and transported to a heat sealing area in which a heat sealer seals the tape onto a container.

In one embodiment, a sensing means detects the absence of a container to be sealed and accordingly stops the tape feeding and cutting operation responsive thereto.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is an axonometric view of a tape applying apparatus according to the invention; FIGURE 2 is an end view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1 taken along lines 22 of FIGURE 1; FIGURE 3 is a partial sectional view looking along lines 33 of FIGURE 2 showing the tape feeding, cutting, and safety cut-off means; FIG- URE 4 is a view along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3; FIG- URE 5 is a partial section along lines 5-5 of FIGURE 2 showing the gripping end tape transportation means; and FIGURE 6 is a partial section along lines 66 of FIGURE 2 showing the heat sealing means and container elevation means.

Referring now to the drawings, especially FIGURES l-4, a plurality of containers 1 are fed intermittently along a conveyor platform 3 and one by one raised into sealing position on a mandrel wherein a piece of tape is heat sealed thereon. Each container is lowered after heat sealing and passed down the conveyor to a further operation. The conveyor comprises a plurality of fingers 5 which slide all containers intermittently along a platform. After a one space movement, the fingers are retracted, shifted backward one space and then swing into position to move all containers again.

Tape 4 on roll 2 is passed over idle rollers 6, 8 and 10, through advancing rollers 12 and 14 and is cut with cutter blades 16 and 18. A power shaft 21 has attached thereto cam 20. Cam 20 actuates rod 22 through follower 24. Rod 22 is pivoted about point 26. Near its other end, rod 22 has pivotably attached thereto member 28 at pin 29. Rod 28 is also pivotably attached to rod 30 which is pivotably secured to fixed shaft 32. As rod 22 reciprocates back and forth about point 26, member 30 will reciprocally rotate about shaft 32, thereby causing idler roller 10 to reciprocate generally in a vertical plane. Shaft 32 extending back across roller 10 has linkage 31 attached thereto and directly behind member 30. Linkage 31 moves in unison with member 30. Linkage 31 has attached to it rod 34 which is frictionally attached by a slot to member 36 which is fixed at point 38. Member 36 can rotate about point 38 then has attached to the end of it a clamping means 40. Clamping means 40 cooperates with anvil 42 to clamp the tape 4 during a portion of that period of time in which rod 22 is moving toward shaft 21 and at which time roller 10 moves downwardly. A spring loaded tension adjustment can be provided on clamping means 40 to adjust the clamping tension.

At the upper portion of rod 22 a collar 46 is attached at 48. Collar 46 is slidably attached to rod 52. Rod 22 can be slotted at 48 and/or collar 46 can be loosely attached to rod 52 to allow for rotation of rod 22. Under normal operation, as rod 22 reciprocates, collar 46 will cause rod 52 to reciprocate in a horizontal direction as shown by the arrow in FIGURE 3. Pin 50 and spring 56 which is attached to fixed collar 54, prevent collar 46 from Sliding relative to rod 52. Fixed pin 58 in slot 60 of rod 52 supports rod 52 in its reciprocating motion. Rod 52 also has attached thereto collar 62 which is slidably attached to rod 52 restrained thereon at one side by pin 64 and at the other side thereof by spring 68 and attached collar 66. The forward motion of collar 62 is limited by stop member 70 which is fixedly attached to the machine. Collar 62 has attached thereto rod 72 which is rotatably attached'te a shaft 76 which supports and is fixed to ratchet wheel 74, and drive roll 12. Pawl member 78 is also attached to rod 72. As rod 52 moves in the direction to the right shown on FIGURE 3, collar 62 is carried to point 70. The movement of collar 62 rotates shaft 76 through pawl 78 thereby rotating drive roll 12. A slot in member 72 and/ or in collar 62 can be provided to compensate for rotation of member 72. As the rod 52 moves further to the right, spring 68 will be compressed and collar 62 will remain stationary, thus preventing further movement of feed roll 12. During the return stroke, rod 52 will carry collar 62 back to the left thereby rotating member 72 about shaft 76 and rotating pawl 78 to a new tooth on ratchet wheel 74. Thus, by the ratchet arrangement of rod 72 and pawl 78 on shaft 76 and ratchet wheel 74, drive roll 12 turns only in the clockwise direction shown in FIGURE 3.

Slidably attached in the end of shaft 52 is yoke 80. Pin 82 attached to yoke 80 slides in slot 84 of shaft 52. During the first portion of the stroke of shaft 52, yoke 80 will remain stationary. A screw and bolt arrangement 86 at the end of slide 84 adjusts the degree to which yoke 80 is moved to the left on the return stroke of shaft 52. Yoke 80 is rotatably fixed at pin 90 and has attached to it at 94 a ball joint connecting member 92 having attached thereto cutter blade 18. As can be seen in FIGURE 4, cutter blade 18 rotates about point 96 responsive to the reciprocation of member 92. Thus, blade 18 in combination with blade 16 causes a scissor-type effect for cutting the tape. During the last part of the movement of shaft 52 to the right, pin 82 catches in the end of slide 84 closest to tape 4. This causes a clockwise rotation of yoke 80 thereby actuating blade 18 to close and cut tape 4.

The sequence of operation for the apparatus parts shown in FIGURE 3 is as follows beginning at that period of time when the shaft 52 is farthest to the left in FIGURE 3. As the rod 22 begins to move to the right, this causes at the same time shaft 52 to move to the right, thereby causing rotation of feed rolls 12 and 14 to feed tape down through blades 16 and 18, the latter of which is in retracted position at this time. After a portion of the travel of shaft 52, collar 62 is stopped by member 70 and rollers 12 and 14 stop. Simultaneously with the rotation of the feed rolls 12 and 14, rotation of member 30 about shaft 32 in a counter clockwise direction causes idler roller to move upwardly, thus releasing slack material which is pulled by rollers 12 and 14. As can be seen from the drawings, roller 12 only pulls that amount of slack material which is left by the upward movement of idler roller 10, and thus does not have to overcome any inertia due to supply roll 2. With the tape now in position, further travel to the right of rod 52 actuates cutter element 18 to cut off a strip of tape 4. It is also noted that during this movement of rod 52 to the right, clamping means 40 and 42 will be open. During the return of rod 52 to the left, the rotation clockwise of linkage 31 causes clamping means 40 and 42 to hold film 4 in place. Further movement of member 30 in a clockwise position pulls idler roller 10 down and creates slack in tape 4 by unrolling more tape from feed roller 2.

It is obvious that the amount of tape fed can be adjusted by adjusting collar 66, collar 62 and pin 64 on rod 52. Or adjustment of more or less tape could be made by moving stop member 70.

In the above description of the operation of feed rollers 12 and 14 in connection with the operation of idler 10, it is obvious that idler roller 10 will continue to move up after feed rollers 12 and 14 discontinue their feeding operation. Thus, as rod 52 returns to the left, roller 10 will move downwardly a short distance before creating more slack in tape 4. This short distance of travel allows gripping means 40 and 42 to set in position so that idler roller 10 will not pull tape 4 back through feed rollers 12 and 14. It is within the scope of the invention to make clamping means 40 and 42 spring loaded in position. Alternately, there can be provided a frictional link between member 30 and jaw 40 so that after a short initial movement on the unclamping or clamping portion of the stroke the clamps are actuated. During the remainder of the stroke, the motion is simply 10st in a friction linkage as illustrated in FIGURE 3.

The safety cut-01f means which is schematically shown in FIGURE 3 operates as follows. A micro switch (not shown) senses the absence of a container on the conveyor in the position for sealing. The absence of a container will trip the micro switch which actuates solenoid 100 to push pin 102 into slot 98 of collar 54, This movement of pin 102 into slot 98 will restrict relative movement of rod 52. As can be seen from the drawing, rod 22 will continue to reciprocate but will cause collar 46 to reciprocate to some extent back and forth on rod 52. The restricted movement of rod 52 will maintain the tape in its position due to the fact that the return stroke of rod 52 will bring pawl 78 back an insufficient distance to engage another tooth in ratchet wheel 74, and will prevent cutting means 16 and 18 from being actuated. The restricted return motion of rod 52 will be insufficient to open cutters 16 and 18. Pin 82 will merely reciprocate in slot 84. The prevention of cutters 16 and 18 from being actuated is significant since it prevents any small slivers from being cut off the tape 4 in the event that a portion of the tape extends down into the cutting area. The prevention of slivers from being cut off will make sure that no slivers get into the bottom of the container thus contaminating the contents thereof.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, gripping jaws 104 and 106 secure tape 4 in the cutting area. There are two pairs of grippers 104 and 106, only one pair being shown in FIGURE 5. The grippers grip the tape on each side. Gripper 106 is fixed on member whereas gripper 104 is pivotable about pin 109 on member 110 and is spring biased in the closed position. That is, jaw member 104 is spring biased against jaw member 106. Member 110 is slidably held in collar 112 which is fixed to a stationary support. Member 110 is connected to linkage 115 and 115 is connected to linkage 114 which is pivotable about fixed pin 116. Linkage 114 is connected to linkage 118 which is in turn connected to linkage 120. A cam 126 actuates movement of linkage 120 through cam follower 124 attached to linkage 120, which movement through linkage 118, 114, and 115 and 110 actuates movement of jaw members 104 and 106 to carry the tape from the cutting area to the heat sealing area adjacent mandrel 142. Linkage 120 is pivotable about point 125. The opening and closing of the jaw members is actuated by the movement of member 128 which exerts upward pressure on follower 108 which is connected to the other end of jaw member 104. The upward pressure on follower 108 opens jaw member 104, rotating the member 104 about point 109 in the counter clockwise direction. Member 128 is pivotable about point 130 which is fixedly attached to collar 112. Member 128 is actuated by cam through cam follower 138, linkage 134 and linkage 132. A spring 136 biases cam follower 138 against cam 140 as does spring 122 bias cam follower 124 against cam 126. Linkage 134 is pivotable about fixed point 125. Both cams 140 and 126 are rotated by shaft 21 which also rotates cam 20. It is within the scope of the invention to provide separate shafts to rotate one or more of cams 20, 140 and 126. The container to which the tape is applied is lifted up to mandrel 142 from the conveyor by an elevator having a platform 144 and shaft 146 which has at the lower end thereof a rack portion 148 which engages a pinion 150 which is rotated about shaft 152 by another rack 154. Rack 154 is actuated by a separate means such as a pneumatic cylinder which causes reciprocation of rack 154 at predetermined times.

Referring now to FIGURE 6 in which the heat sealing device is shown, a heating means 156 having heat sealing head 158 is attached to shaft 160 which is slidably held by collar 162. Collar 162 is fixedly attached to a portion of the machine. Shaft 160 is attached to linkage 163. Linkage 163 is attached to linkage 164, which is pivotable about fixed pin 166 and is attached to linkage 168 which is slidably attached to receiving collar 170 having slide 176 for guiding pin 178 on the end of linkage 168. Receiving collar 170 and linkage 168 are spring biased in the extended position, i.e. with pin 178 in the righthand end of slot '176 as seen in FIGURE 6, the spring biasing being accomplished by spring 174 which acts against the end of receiving collar 170 and disc 172 which is fixed to linkage 168. The heat sealing means is actuated to slide in collar 162 by cam 188, which is rotated by shaft 21, thecam 188 acting against cam follower 184 attached to linkage 182 which is in turn attached to the end of receiving collar 170. Linkage 182 is spring biased against cam 188 by means of spring 180 and is pivotable about fixed point 186. As is understood by one skilled in the art, cam 188 could be rotated by a different shaft other than shaft 21.

In operation, a plurality of containers 1 move down a conveyor platform 3 as shown in FIGURE 1. As each container comes under mandrel 142, it is lifted onto the mandrel by elevator platform 144. Shaft 52 moving to the right as shown in FIGURE 4 releases tape clamping jaws 40 and 42 and actuates roller 12 to move a segment of tape, left slack by upward movement of roll 10, into the cutting area. As rod 52 continues to move to the right, and collar 62 contacts stop means 70, the tape ceases to be fed into the work area. The tape is gripped by grippers 104 and 106 which are in the position shown in FIGURE 5. Cutting means 18 is actuated to cut off a portion of the tape. When the tape is severed, cutting means 18 begins to retract. At this time, grippers 104 and 106 on the tape transport means 110 move to the left as shown in FIGURE 5 to place the tape in position over container blank on mandrel 142. During this time, member 22 rotating counter clockwise causes the tape clamping jaws 40 and 42 to grip the tape and causes downward movement of roll thus pulling more tape from the supply roll 2. At this same time, heat sealing means 156 is actuated to move to the left thus causing heating head 158 to come in contact with the cut film strip which is held in place adjacent the container, which is backed by mandrel 142, by grippers 104 and 106, thereby sealing the tape member to the container 1. The heat sealing head is maintained firmly in place by the action of cam 188 pushing to the right receiving collar 170 which exerts continual pressure through spring 174 against linkage 168 and through member 164 and member 163 to member 160. During the heat sealing operation, cam 140 actuates member 128 to lift follower 108 thereby opening jaw 104. The jaw means is then free to move back into the position shown in FIGURE 5. Heat sealing head 156 then moves back to the position shown in FIGURE 6. The elevator platform 144 retracts downwardly and the container moves on to a filling operation. Another container moves onto platform 144 which is raised into position on mandrel 142 as a new cycle begins.

It is to be understood that the above description is schematic, bolts and other details within the skill of the art being eliminated. It is within the scope of the invention to rearrange the above described machine such as transposing the position of the cams and sealing area with respect to the tape cutting area without changing the functioning of the machine.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for applying a tape to a container comprising (a) a tape advancing means for advancing tape from a supply roll during a first interval of time, and a means for feeding the thus advanced tape to a work area during a second, subsequent interval of time so that said means for feeding does not rotate the supply roll when feeding.

(b) a cutting means for severing tape in said work area,

(c) a tape gripping and transporting means for transporting the tape from said work area to a sealing area,

((1) a mandrel positioned in said sealing area and over which a container fits in sealing position,

(e) a sealing means to contact tape in said sealing area to seal the thus contacted tape to a container fitted in sealing position over said mandrel.

(f) a conveyor means to intermittently move one-byone a plurality of open end containers to said sealing area, and

(g) means to move containers one-by-one from said conveyor means onto said mandrel in sealing position.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tape advancing means comprises a means for fixedly holding tape in said work area during said first interval of time, and means to create slack in said tape between said tape holding means and said supply roll during said first interval of time; and wherein said means for feeding comprises means for iptermittently feeding the thus advanced tape to said work area during said second interval of time.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means for intermittently feeding comprises a ratchetdriven roll, said ratchet-driven roll being rotated by a rod actuated by a first cam means.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said ratchet-driven roll is connected to said rod by a linking means for which is slidably spring loaded on said rod, said first cam means being operable to move said ratchetdriven roll during said second time interval.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4 further comprising means responsive to the movement of said rod to actuate said tape cutting means during a third time interval, said rod, said tape holding means, and said slack creating means all being actuated by said first cam means.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said cutting means is scissor-shaped.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tape gripping and transporting means comprises two pairs of jaws, with one jaw of each pair being movable, each said movable jaw being actuated by a cam means, said movable jaws being actuated to clamp said tape before cutting and to release said tape after sealing.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein there is further provided a means for preventing tape feeding and cutting in the event that no container is present to have tape applied thereto.

9. An apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising a means for preventing tape feeding and cutting in the event that no container is present to have tape applied thereto, said means for preventing tape feeding and cutting comprising a micro switch which actuates a first pin into a slot in said rod, said first cam means which actuates said rod being attached to said rod by a collar means retained on said rod and spring biased against a second pin on said rod so that when said first pin moves into said slot in said rod the reciprocating motion of said rod will be so restricted as to prevent actuation of said tape feeding means and of said cutting means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein a first cam actuates said tape feeding means, said tape holding means, said means to create slack in said tape, and said tape cutting means; a second cam actuates the opening and closing of said tape gripping and transporting means to grip said tape in said work area; a third cam actuates the movement of said tape gripping and transporting means to move the cut tape from said work area to said sealing area; and a fourth cam actuates the movement of said sealing means; said first, second, third and fourth cams all being on the same shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,861,144 5/1932 Schmiedel 156521 XR 8 3,306,802 2/1967 Wilcox et a1. 156-355 3,346,433 10/1967 Lopez 156-355 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,146,725 5/1957 France.

US. Cl. X.R. 

